Farrington, J.

This article examines why farmer participatory research has recently become an important issue in LDCs but less so in DCs, and looks at why this approach developed largely with a view to rain-fed areas. It also discusses the characteristics of farmer participatory research and the prospects for placing these approaches on a sustainable institutional footing. Attached is a short article by Robert Chambers from the Journal of International Agricultural Development (1988) on the trends in thinking and priority in agriculture and the implications for research.